Iran, EU agree to resume nuclear talks in 'physical format' from November 29 in Vienna

Iran and the European Union have agreed to resume nuclear talks on 29 November in Vienna. In a statement issue on Wednesday, 3 November, the EU’s European External Action Service said that the Joint Commission of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) will convene in a “physical format” at the end of this month in Vienna. The statement added that the talks will be chaired by Enrique Mora on behalf of EU foreign policy chief Josip Borrell. 

The talks “will be attended by representatives of China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom and Iran. Participants will continue the discussions on the prospect of a possible return of the United States to the JCPOA and how to ensure the full and effective implementation of the agreement by all sides,” the statement read. 

Separately, Deputy Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri, who is also Tehran’s lead negotiator, confirmed the date for the resumption of talks. Taking to Twitter, Bagheri said that the 29 November date had been set in a phone call with Mora. Meanwhile, according to The Times of Israel, the US, in reaction to the latest development, said that a deal is possible quickly if Iran is “serious” in the Vienna talks. 

2015 nuclear deal 

Vienna has been hosting talks aimed at reviving the Iran nuclear agreement since April. However, the negotiations have hit a deadlock as Iran has insisted that its nuclear steps are reversible if Washington lifts all sanctions. Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi even said that Tehran is after “goal-oriented” talks with the West and noted that his country “never left” the negotiation grounds. “Lifting sanctions is an indication of the seriousness of the other party,” Raisi had said in a broadcast on state-run TV, as per AP.

Raisi also added Iran “is serious in this issue, we should see the seriousness in the other party” as well. Due to the signing of the 2015 nuclear deal, Iran drastically reduced the enrichment of uranium in exchange for lifting economic sanctions. However, the deal signed during former US President Barack Obama administration did not last for too long as his successor Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew America from the deal and reimposed the crippling sanctions on the Islamic Republic. Trump’s 2018 move resulted in an increase in tensions in the Middle East with Tehran breaching its limits on uranium enrichment set under the deal. It is to mention that Iran is presently enriching brief amounts of uranium at the closest-ever levels to weapons-grade purity. Meanwhile, its stockpile reportedly continues to develop. 

(Image: AP)